Once upon a time there lived an old man and his wife who had no children,
and were very lonely. One day, the old man shaped a piece of wood and
the old woman wrapped it up and rocked it like a baby, singing:

Close your pretty eyes, Teryosha,
Sleep, my darling child!
All the fishes and the thrushes,
All the hares and foxes wild
Have gone bye-bye in the forest,
Sleep, my darling child!

Little by little, the pierce of wood they called Teryosha
began to change into a real child, and before long he grew into a big and clever
boy. The old man made a boat for him, painting it white, and a pair of paddles,
which he painted red. Teryosha got into the boat, and said:

My little white boat, do as I wish
And take me to where there's plenty of fish.

The little white boat obeyed, and took Teryosha far out into
the river. After that, he went fishing every day, and at midday his mother would
bring him his lunch and, standing on the bank, sing out:

Teryosha, hearing his mother's voice from afar, would paddle
to the bank and come ashore. His mother would take the fish he had caught, give
him his lunch, change his shirt and belt, and let him go out in his boat again.
The Witch saw and heard all this. And so, one day she came to the bank and called
in her ugly voice:

Teryosha knew it was not his mother's voice, and urged his little
white boat to take him as far away from the bank as it could. The Witch ran
to the blacksmith and told him to re-fashion her throat so that her voice would
sound as sweet as that of Teryosha's mother. The blacksmith did his best. And
then the Witch came to the bank and called:

Teryosha thought it was his mother calling, for the voice was
exactly like hers, and paddled to the bank. The Witch grabbed him, stuffed him
into her bag, and carried him to her cottage in the forest. She told her daughter
Alynoka to light the stove and roast Teryosha for dinner, while she was away
doing more wickedness. Alyonka got the fire going, and when the oven was very,
very hot, ordered Teryosha to lie flat on the shovel. But he sat on it, instead
of lying down, threw out his arms and legs and try as she might Alyonka could
not push him into the oven. "I told you to lie flat," she snapped
at him. "I don't know how. You show me ", Teryosha replied. "Lie
down the way cats sleep and dogs sleep, that's how." "You show me
anyway". Alyonka lay down on the shovel, and Teryosha quickly pushed her
into the oven and clamped the oven door shut. He ran outside and climbed to
the top of an old oak, because he saw the Witch returning home. The Witch opened
the oven, gobbled up Alyonka and picked the bone clean. When she had stuffed
herself, she came outside and started rolling in the grass, chanting:

I'll take a roll, and I'll take a loll,
With Teryosha's meat I'm nice and full!

Teryosha replied quietly from the top of the oak:

"With Alyonka's meat you're full." The Witch thought
it was simply the oak leaves rustling in the wind, and went on chanting:

I'll take a roll, and I'll take a loll,
With Teryosha's meat I'm nice and full!

And again Teryosha said: "With Alyonka's meat you're full."
The Witch looked up and saw him sitting in the tree. She rushed at the oak and
tried to bite it across. She bit and she bit, broke two of her front teeth,
and ran to the blacksmith: "Make me two iron teeth, quickly." Yhe
blacksmith made her two iron teth, and she went back to bite the oak across.
She bit and she bit, and broke two of her lower front teeth. She ran to the
blacksmith again, and told him to make her two more iron teeth. The blacksmith
did as he was told. Now she went at the oak so hard that chips flew to right
and left. The oak was beginning to creak and sway. What was Teryosha to do?
Suddenly he saw a flock of geese flying overhead, and he begged them:

Oh, good friends, oh darling geese,
Take me home to mother, please!

But the geese replied: "Another flock's close behind, the
geese are feebler than we are, they'll take you'" Now the Witch would take
a bite or two, give Teryosha a glare, smack her lips, and go on biting at the
tree. Another flock came along, and Teryosha begged:

Oh, good friends, oh darling geese,
Take me home to mother, please!

And the geese replied: "There's a pecked young goose coming
behind us, he'll take you home!" The Witch had only a little way to go
before the oak toppled. The pecked young goose came, and Teroysha begged him:

You're the kindest of the geese,
Take me home to mother, please!

The pecked young goose took pity on Teryosha, came down to let
him climb on to his back, and carried him home to mother. They came to the cottage
and alighted on the grass right under the window. The old women had made some
pancakes to remember Teryosha by, and handing one to the old man she said: "here's
a pancake for you, and here's one for me." "What about me?" Teryosha
asked from where he was. The old woman heard him, and said to the old an: "Go
outside and look who's asking for a pancake." The old man went outside,
saw Teryosha, took him home to the old woman, and she could not kiss and hug
her darling son enough! They gave the pecked goose all the food and water he
wanted, and let him run free in the yard until he grew into a big and strong
bird. He leads the flocks now, flaps his wide wings and often remembers Teroysha.